WWE Backlash 2016
Richmond, Virginia - September 2016
CHAMPIONSHIP RUNDOWN: Coming into tonight's show, Dean Ambrose holds the WWE World Championship, The Miz is the Intercontinental Championship, and both the SmackDown Womens' Championship and SmackDown Tag Team Championships are vacant.
COMMENTATORS: Mauro Ranallo, JBL, David Otunga
Shane McMahon makes his way down the aisle and is soon joined by Daniel Bryan, both to a warm welcome from the Virginia crowd. They gloat a bit about the success of their show before announcing that the new Smackdown Womens Championship will be awarded to the winner of tonight's opening contest.
Six-Pack Challenge time - Becky Lynch vs. Naomi vs. Natalya vs. Alexa Bliss vs. Carmella vs. Nikki Bella. Not the most fluid action between Lyncha and Naomi to start things off, but Nikki and Natalya popped the crowd in their sequences with the less experienced Bliss, who showcased 2-3 clever maneuevers. Carmella has no business being on the main roster yet, but Nikki brought such aggressiveness to their exchange that I'm willing to overlook how green she is to see this rivalry continue. After hitting a big springboard splash to the outside, Naomi eliminated with Bliss with an assistance from Natalya via a Blockbuster Powerbomb combo. Natalya then iced Naomi with a Sharpshooter that could've been sold far better, a clear picture of what Naomi's developing game is missing. Natalya and Nikki went in rapid succession, the match entering a finale stage that was pretty poorly delivered but, at least at its start, had the crowd fully engaged. People calling this one of the better womens' matches of the decade must've watched a different match than me because, while this was certainly not a bad match, the execution was far from perfect and, aside from continuing the Carmella/Bella feud, this one didn't really point to anything coming around the bend the way it should have. (2.5/5)
The Usos took on The Hype Bros next, a "Last Chance Challenge" for one team to go on and face Heath Slater and Rhyno later in the night for the newly-minted Smackdown Tag Team Championships. Not much to say about this average-at-best match-up, though I did like how the Usos really heeled it up throughout and punctuated the match with a vicious attack on Ryder that mirrored their takedown of Chad Gable to secure the win. A "TV" match at best that was elevated by a crowd that was engaged. (2.5/5)
Heath Slater and Rhyno are backstage with Renee Young. I know Slater's been killing it on SmackDown as of late, but skits that end with him or anyone else admitting they has diarrhea are never going to be funny to me.
The Intercontinental Championship was on the line when The Miz defended against longtime rival Dolph Ziggler. I've been a Miz fan for years now and this match offered plenty of proof why, though I've soured quite a bit on Ziggler over that same stretch. Considering how many times these two have locked up, I was expecting to be pretty bored, but, fortunately, they exceeded my relatively low expectations and put together a solid match that kept a good pace and featured some of the Miz's most fluid work to date. Ziggler seems to be heading for a heel turn sooner than later and, based on what I saw here, looks excited with the change, infusing this match with expressions of dejection that hinted towards his character change without overtly beating the audience over the head with it. As for Miz, his Daniel Bryan trolling was great fun, though, its questionable if the ends will justify the means if Bryan never competes again. An improvement from the IC Title match at SummerSlam, but not necessarily anything beyond just good. (3/5)
Earlier in the night Bray Wyatt attacked Randy Orton backstage, the Creative Team's last minute changeroo to deal with the fact that Orton was not medically cleared following the vicious elbows he took from Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. After taking a countout victory, Wyatt was challenged to a No DQ bout by Kane, yet another moldy oldie match from at least two years ago. After brawling in and out of the ring for awhile, using a few of the typical "toys" lying around, Wyatt hit a big senton through an announcers table for the best spot of the match. Back in the ring, the monsters exchanged chokeslams before Orton showed up to hit Wyatt with an RKO in the center of the ring to secure a victory for the Big Red Machine. While not offensively bad, this would've been filler on a Christmas episode of SmackDown. (1.5/5)
After an AJ Styles segment and a commercial for upcoming WWE Network programming, we're back in the ring for the finals of the SmackDown Tag Team Tournament, The Usos taking on Heath Slater and Rhyno. The first 4/5ths of this was Slater getting destroyed, but then he hit the hot tag and the match sprinted through a tremendous ending that was well-executed and, better still, didn't defy logic. The crowd was heavily invested throughout even if the action itself ebbed-and-flowed, shuffling between fresh, creative spots (the Usos' double-suplex into the post) and run-of-the-mill, old school 'rassling (restholds and classic cut-offs). Slater's post-match promo wasn't stellar, but there's no doubt he was super over and the crowd enjoyed the finish. (3/5)
Main event time - AJ Styles battling Dean Ambrose for the Lunatic Fringe's WWE World Championship. Easily the match of the night, this one was yet another feather-in-the-cap performance from AJ Styles, who now has to be the undisputed WWE Wrestler of the Year. Ambrose was no slouch here, but Styles was leading this dance and his work was almost flawless - his strikes stiff, his submissions snug, his remarkable athleticism on display without coming off as overly "babyface-ish," a criticism one would apply to, say, Seth Rollins. Styles may be beloved by the crowd, but everything he does makes sense for a heel to do. Unlike at SummerSlam or WrestleMania even, Ambrose seemed to wrestle a looser style that allowed his charm to come through in important moments (his efforts to brawl himself out out of submissions was particularly good). Maybe against Lesnar, he was burdened with having to script a match that his opponent didn't even want to be bothered with having. Maybe against Ziggler, a cold, tired crowd mixed with generally heatless sequences to produce underwhelming filler. Here, with Styles in the driver's seat, Ambrose got to be reactive instead of being the one pushing the match forward, a role that the "Lunatic Fringe" character makes far more sense in. The finish points to a future bout between these two and I'm all for it. (4/5)
As the first Network special of the second brand-split era, Backlash 2016 had a ton working against it. John Cena wasn't on the card. Randy Orton wasn't on the card. American Alpha, the best tag team on the brand, weren't on the card. Going into the show, the pundits predicted (and were proven true) that the Blue Brand just didn't have a roster capable of delivering a full 3-hour show. On the positive side, there is plenty that can and will go right come October's No Mercy and beyond. John Cena returned to TV this week. Randy Orton should be back sooner than later. It is highly likely that there will be a call-up or two from NXT. The fall-out from both the Womens' Championship match and the Tag Team Championship tournament point to these divisions being built around not just one title-based storyline, but 2-3 potential rivalries. For example, while Nikki Bella and Carmella continue their feud, Becky Lynch is free to fend off challenges from Natalya or Naomi. Plus, at the top of the card, you now have what have become practically guaranteed Match of the Year Candidate-caliber performances out of your World Champion. If this show disappointed with its 2.75-out-of-5 score, future events at least a decent starting point to build from.
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
Main event time - AJ Styles battling Dean Ambrose for the Lunatic Fringe's WWE World Championship. Easily the match of the night, this one was yet another feather-in-the-cap performance from AJ Styles, who now has to be the undisputed WWE Wrestler of the Year. Ambrose was no slouch here, but Styles was leading this dance and his work was almost flawless - his strikes stiff, his submissions snug, his remarkable athleticism on display without coming off as overly "babyface-ish," a criticism one would apply to, say, Seth Rollins. Styles may be beloved by the crowd, but everything he does makes sense for a heel to do. Unlike at SummerSlam or WrestleMania even, Ambrose seemed to wrestle a looser style that allowed his charm to come through in important moments (his efforts to brawl himself out out of submissions was particularly good). Maybe against Lesnar, he was burdened with having to script a match that his opponent didn't even want to be bothered with having. Maybe against Ziggler, a cold, tired crowd mixed with generally heatless sequences to produce underwhelming filler. Here, with Styles in the driver's seat, Ambrose got to be reactive instead of being the one pushing the match forward, a role that the "Lunatic Fringe" character makes far more sense in. The finish points to a future bout between these two and I'm all for it. (4/5)
As the first Network special of the second brand-split era, Backlash 2016 had a ton working against it. John Cena wasn't on the card. Randy Orton wasn't on the card. American Alpha, the best tag team on the brand, weren't on the card. Going into the show, the pundits predicted (and were proven true) that the Blue Brand just didn't have a roster capable of delivering a full 3-hour show. On the positive side, there is plenty that can and will go right come October's No Mercy and beyond. John Cena returned to TV this week. Randy Orton should be back sooner than later. It is highly likely that there will be a call-up or two from NXT. The fall-out from both the Womens' Championship match and the Tag Team Championship tournament point to these divisions being built around not just one title-based storyline, but 2-3 potential rivalries. For example, while Nikki Bella and Carmella continue their feud, Becky Lynch is free to fend off challenges from Natalya or Naomi. Plus, at the top of the card, you now have what have become practically guaranteed Match of the Year Candidate-caliber performances out of your World Champion. If this show disappointed with its 2.75-out-of-5 score, future events at least a decent starting point to build from.
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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